His Answer Was Unforgettable
Last summer, my friend got incredibly sunburned. Like blistering, can’t wear clothes sunburned. When I asked him why he didn’t wear sunscreen, he told me he wanted to get a little tan. When I told him he still would have gotten tan if he had worn at least a low SPF, he didn’t believe me.
So then I asked him what he thought SPF meant. His answer was unforgettable. He said, I kid you not, “That’s the number of hours it works before you have to reapply”. Once I stopped laughing, I sat him down and explained UVA/UVB radiation, how sunscreen works, and what the SPF means.
Fast forward to this summer, hanging out in my neighbor’s pool. I notice my friend is looking a little red and ask if he’s wearing sunscreen. He said: “Yeah! I got SPF 8, so it blocks 80% of the UV rays”! Well, it’s a start. Now we’re learning math.